2017 Quetta church attack | |
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![]() City of Quetta | |
Location | Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan |
Date | 17 December 2017 |
Target | Bethel Memorial Methodist Church Pakistani Christians |
Deaths | 9 + 2 perpetrators |
Injured | 57 |
Perpetrators | Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
The 2017 Quetta church attack took place on 17 December 2017 when armed militants and suicide bombers stormed the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church in the western Pakistani city of Quetta, killing nine people and injuring dozens more. The attack was perpetrated by the Islamic State, who claimed responsibility through its Amaq media outlet.
Christians make up less than two percent of Pakistan's population and are among the poorest and least influential group of Pakistani society. The community is regularly targeted by violence from religious extremists, notably the Peshawar church bombing in 2013 which saw more than 100 people killed, or the Lahore church bombings in 2015 which killed nineteen. Quetta, located in the restive southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan is a majority Sunni region that has been a hotbed for much violence in the country. [1] [2] In November 2017, a Pakistani paramilitary convoy in Quetta was attacked by a suicide bomber, killing four. [3]
On 17 December 2017, several hundred worshipers had gathered at the Bethel Memorial Methodist Church for Sunday service when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest at the entrance of the church hall. A second suicide bomber attempted to detonate his explosive vest however he was unable to and a gunfire broke out between him and security forces. The attacker was eventually killed, ending the assault which left nine people dead and scores more injured. [4] [5] Shortly after the attack, Amaq News Agency, the media arm of the Islamic State posted a statement online claiming the attack had been carried out by the group. [6]
On April 5, 2010, two bombings in Pakistan killed up to 50 people and injured 100 more. In the first attack the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar was attacked by militants. The coordinated attack involved a vehicle suicide bomb and attackers who tried to enter the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar by using grenades and weapons fire. Three explosions went off within a span of 15 minutes in the area of Saddar and Hayatabad Avenue, near the American consulate and the Peshawar headquarters of Pakistan's intelligence agency. Several militants came in two vehicles. The first vehicle exploded near a security checkpoint, and gunmen in the second car opened fire. A Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan spokesman claimed responsibility for the assault on the consulate. In Timergara, Lower Dir district an Awami National Party rally came under attack. Pakistani Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq said "Americans are our enemies. We carried out the attack on their consulate in Peshawar. We plan more such attacks."
In 2007, 34 terrorist attacks and clashes, including suicide attacks, killings, and assassinations, resulted in 134 casualties and 245 injuries, according to the PIPS security report. The report states that Pakistan faced 20 suicide attacks during 2007, which killed at least 111, besides injuring other 234 people. The PIPS report shows visible increase in suicide attacks after the siege of Lal Masjid.
This is a list of terrorist attacks in Pakistan in the calendar year 2011.
These are the list of Terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2010.
This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2013. Some of the incidents are sectarian in nature and the TTP is responsible for a majority of them.
This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2014.
On 22 September 2013, a twin suicide bombing took place at All Saints Church in Peshawar, Pakistan, in which 127 people were killed and more than 250 injured. It was the deadliest attack on the Christian minority in the history of Pakistan.
This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2016. Pakistan was the 10th most dangerous country by criminality index in 2016.
On 16 August 2015, two suspected suicide bombers detonated explosives at the home office of Punjab Interior Minister Shuja Khanzada in the Attock District village of Shadikhan, 80 km (50 mi) from the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. The blasts killed the minister and 18 other people; at least 17 people were injured and taken to hospitals. Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), a Deobandi militant group with ties to Al-Qaeda, claimed responsibility for the attack, and it was later determined that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan was also involved.
Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2017 include, in chronological order:
The December 2016 Aden suicide bombings were terrorist attacks that occurred on 10 December and 18 December 2016 targeted on Yemeni soldiers in Aden, the responsibility of bombing was claimed by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group, according to Amaq news agency. The suicide bombing occurred in a gathering of soldiers who were to receive their salaries on 10 December 2016. The blasts took place at same military base camps on 18 December 2016.
On 13 February 2017, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar released a video announcing the launch of "Operation Ghazi", named after Abdul Rashid Ghazi who was killed in July 2007 inside the Lal Masjid. The operation started with the suicide bombing at the Mall, in which 12 civilians and six police officers were killed.
Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It was further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation underwent active participation from the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 intelligence-based operations had been carried out as of 2021. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.
On 12 May 2017, a suicide bombing targeted the convoy of the Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan, Abdul Ghafoor Haideri, a JUI (F) member, on the N-25 National Highway in Mastung District, Balochistan, Pakistan. At least 28 people were killed; 40 others were injured, including the Senator. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Haideri.
On 23 June 2017, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Pakistan resulting in 96 dead and over 200 wounded. They included a suicide bombing in Quetta targeting policemen, followed by a double bombing at a market in Parachinar, and the targeted killing of four policemen in Karachi.
On 12 August 2017, a suicide bombing took place near a Pakistan army truck in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan, leaving 15 people dead including 8 soldiers, while injuring 40 others. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility for the attack.
On 5 October 2017, a suicide bomber targeted the shrine of Pir Rakhel Shah situated in Fatehpur, a small town in Gandawah tehsil of Jhal Magsi district in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province. At least 20 people, including two policemen, were killed and more than 30 others injured in the suicide attack.
Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2018 include:
On 25 July 2018, during polling for the 2018 Pakistani general election, a bomb blast outside a polling station in Quetta's Eastern Bypass area resulted in 31 people being killed and over 35 injured. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the group’s Amaq News Agency.
On 26 April 2019, Sri Lankan security forces and National Thowheeth Jama'ath militants linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant clashed when the security forces raided a house in the town of Sainthamaruthu in Ampara District at around 7:30 pm. The house had been used by the militants to manufacture explosives and suicide vests. Three suicide bombers blew themselves up, killing nine of their family members, including six children, while four other suspects where shot dead by the soldiers. A civilian was killed and two others were injured during the crossfire.